1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems for video distribution. More particularly, the present invention relates to a menuing system permitting a user to select and control the delivery of program material in a video distribution system.
2. The Background
It is common for lodging facilities such as hotels and motels to provide their guests with video programming from cable or broadcast television as well as feature films via on-demand video rentals and/or fixed scheduled movie systems. Providing video programming beyond the cable and broadcast television programming readily available to the public allows the facility to both fulfill a desire of some guests for such programming and generate revenue by charging for the programming.
Prior art systems for video distribution include menu generation, however the menus are maintained by a central host and presented to a user with a simple video frame generator. This mechanism is limited in that all service requests from the user must be handled by the central host. This loads the central host and can make the system appear sluggish or non-responsive in a heavily used system such or would be the care in a busy hotel. Furthermore, these prior art systems are limited to presenting a single static menu to all users.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved menuing system for a modular video distribution system to assist users in selecting program material from a plurality of sources. It would also be desirable to provide a menuing system that may be interactive, easily tailored to specific users and is can include multimedia samples, such as short film clips.